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Friday, January 13, 2012

The Year of 13

Getting away from this being the supposed year that the world ends, this is a very unusual year. The superstitious hold Friday the 13th has to be a day of either severe bad luck or good luck, but this year they have to wrangle with 3 of them, separated exactly 13 weeks apart (which has not happened since 1984 - the year of my birth).

Three Friday the 13ths happen every few years.
The last was in 2009, and the next is 2015. What's special about 2012 —
and what won't occur again until 2040 — is that this is happening
during a leap year, says Tom Fernsler, a University of Delaware math professor who sometimes goes by the name Dr. 13.

Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13 while fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia. From the time of the Templar arrest to today there are many superstitions surrounding this day.

13 Supersitions about Friday the 13th

There is at least one Friday the 13th every year, but no single year has more than three.

Months with a Friday the 13th always begin on a Sunday.

The longest period that can occur without a Friday the 13th is fourteen months.

Legend has it if 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year. In France, diners can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

Friday is said to be the day when Eve tempted Adam with the
forbidden fruit, Abel was killed by Cain and Jesus Christ was
crucified.

Many cities do not have a 13th Street or 13th Avenue.

Many buildings don't have a 13th floor.

Most airports skip having a 13th gate and airplanes a 13th row.

Many hospitals do not have a room number 13.

If you have 13 letters in your name, you have the devil's luck -
Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and Theodore Bundy all
have 13 letters in their names.

There are 13 twists of the rope in a traditional hangman's noose and 13 steps leading up to the gallows.

In Formula 1 racing, there is no car with the number 13. The number has been removed after two drivers were killed in crashes, both driving cars numbered 13.

An urban myth states the British Royal Navy tried to dispel the
superstition that sailing on Friday was bad luck. They built a ship
named HMS Friday. On its maiden voyage, the vessel left dock on a Friday the 13th, and was never heard from again.

The
number 13 and Friday are recurring presences in mythological, spiritual
and religious tradition. In Christianity, 13 people attended the Last Supper
before Judas' betrayal and Jesus' death on a Friday. A Norse myth
warns of dire consequences for dining in groups of 13 (something as we saw above, the French even feared in some instances).

For many pagans, 13 is a lucky number, because
it corresponds with the number of full moons each year, says Ivo
Dominguez Jr., owner of Bell, Book & Candle, a pagan and occult book
and gift shop in Dover, Del.

The Numerology of 13

The number 13 symbolizes the death to the matter or to oneself and the birth to the spirit: the passage on a higher level of existence. One can see a bond between Jacob and his twelves sons as well as Christ to his 12 Apostles. According to the Druids the sacred cord has 13 segments. The Sumerians used a zodiac including 13 constellations and 26 main stars. The number 13 also falls into the Fibonacci sequence.

There are many more things tied to 13 such as the 13 original colonies of America as well as the number conspiratorial tied to us Freemasons.